Digital SAT Math — The Deep-Cut Formula & Concept Sheet

(Beyond the basics: everything niche that actually shows up)

1. ALGEBRA — Linear, Systems, Absolute Value

Slope forms
Point-slope: y - y₁ = m(x - x₁)
Standard form slope: for Ax + By = C , slope = -A/B , y-intercept = C/B

Parallel lines: same slope, different intercept

Perpendicular lines: slopes are negative reciprocals ( m₁·m₂ = -1 )
Systems of equations — special cases
Infinite solutions: equations are scalar multiples of each other (same slope,
same intercept) → ratios of A, B, C all equal
No solution: same slope, different intercept → ratio of A/B equal, but C ratio
different
One solution: different slopes
Absolute value equations: |x - a| = b → two cases, x - a = b and x - a = -b
Absolute value inequalities
|x| < a → -a < x < a

|x| > a → x < -a OR x > a

Distance/rate/time: d = rt ; combined work rate: 1/t₁ + 1/t₂ = 1/t_total

Direct variation: y = kx

Inverse variation: y = k/x

Joint variation: y = kxz
2. QUADRATICS & POLYNOMIALS
Standard form: ax² + bx + c = 0

Quadratic formula: x = (-b ± √(b² - 4ac)) / 2a

Discriminant Δ = b² - 4ac
Δ > 0 → 2 real solutions

Δ = 0 → 1 real solution (double root, vertex touches x-axis)

Δ < 0 → 0 real solutions (complex roots)
Vertex form: y = a(x - h)² + k , vertex = (h, k)

Vertex x-coordinate from standard form: x = -b/2a

Sum and product of roots (Vieta's formulas):
 Sum: x₁ + x₂ = -b/a

Product: x₁ · x₂ = c/a

Factored form: y = a(x - p)(x - q) , roots at x = p, q

Completing the square: x² + bx = (x + b/2)² - (b/2)²

Difference of squares: a² - b² = (a+b)(a-b)
Perfect square trinomials: a² + 2ab + b² = (a+b)² ; a² - 2ab + b² = (a-b)²

Sum/difference of cubes:
a³ + b³ = (a+b)(a² - ab + b²)
a³ - b³ = (a-b)(a² + ab + b²)

End behavior of polynomials: even degree → both ends same direction; odd degree →
opposite directions; leading coefficient sign controls up/down
Multiplicity of roots: even multiplicity → graph touches x-axis and bounces; odd
multiplicity → crosses through
Number of turning points ≤ degree - 1
Remainder theorem: dividing p(x) by (x - a) gives remainder p(a)
Factor theorem: (x - a) is a factor of p(x) iff p(a) = 0
3. FUNCTIONS & TRANSFORMATIONS
f(x) transformations:
f(x) + k → shift up k
f(x - h) → shift right h

-f(x) → reflect over x-axis

f(-x) → reflect over y-axis
a·f(x) , |a|>1 → vertical stretch; 0<|a|<1 → compression
Composite functions: f(g(x)) — plug g(x) into f
Inverse functions: swap x and y, solve for y; graphically reflects over y = x

Exponential growth/decay: y = a(1 + r)^t (growth), y = a(1 - r)^t (decay)

Exponential with base e: y = ae^(kt)
Compound interest: A = P(1 + r/n)^(nt)

Continuous compounding: A = Pe^(rt)

Half-life / doubling: y = a(1/2)^(t/h) or y = a(2)^(t/d)

Rational functions: vertical asymptote where denominator = 0 (and numerator ≠ 0);

horizontal asymptote from degree comparison of numerator/denominator
Average rate of change: (f(b) - f(a)) / (b - a)
4. EXPONENTS & RADICALS
a^m · a^n = a^(m+n)

a^m / a^n = a^(m-n)

(a^m)^n = a^(mn)
a^0 = 1 (a ≠ 0)
a^(-n) = 1/a^n
a^(m/n) = ⁿ√(a^m) = (ⁿ√a)^m

√(ab) = √a · √b

Rationalizing denominators: multiply by conjugate for binomial radicals

5. GEOMETRY — Lines, Angles, Triangles
Triangle angle sum = 180°
Exterior angle theorem: exterior angle = sum of two remote interior angles
Triangle inequality: sum of two sides > third side
Similar triangles: corresponding sides proportional, corresponding angles equal
Special right triangles:
45-45-90: legs x, x , hypotenuse x√2
30-60-90: sides x, x√3, 2x

Pythagorean theorem: a² + b² = c²

Common Pythagorean triples: 3-4-5, 6-8-10, 5-12-13, 8-15-17, 7-24-25, 9-40-41

Law of Sines: a/sin A = b/sin B = c/sin C
Law of Cosines: c² = a² + b² - 2ab·cos C
Area of triangle (SAS): Area = (1/2)ab·sin C

Area of triangle (base-height): (1/2)bh

Heron's formula: s = (a+b+c)/2 , Area = √(s(s-a)(s-b)(s-c))

30-60-90 / equilateral triangle area: Area = (s²√3)/4

Midsegment theorem: midsegment is parallel to third side and half its length
Centroid divides median in 2:1 ratio
6. CIRCLES
Circle equation (center-radius form): (x - h)² + (y - k)² = r²

General form → complete the square to find center/radius

Circumference: C = 2πr = πd
Area: A = πr²
Arc length: s = (θ/360°)·2πr (degrees) or s = rθ (radians)
Sector area: A = (θ/360°)·πr²
 Central angle = arc measure
Inscribed angle = half the central angle / half the intercepted arc
Radian conversion: radians = degrees × (π/180)
Tangent line perpendicular to radius at point of tangency
Chord-related: perpendicular from center bisects the chord
7. TRIGONOMETRY
SOH-CAH-TOA: sin = opp/hyp , cos = adj/hyp , tan = opp/adj

Complementary angle (cofunction) identity: sin(θ) = cos(90° - θ) — heavily

tested on Digital SAT
Pythagorean identity: sin²θ + cos²θ = 1
tan θ = sin θ / cos θ
Unit circle values for 0°, 30°, 45°, 60°, 90°
8. 3D GEOMETRY — Area & Volume
Rectangular prism volume: V = lwh

Cylinder volume: V = πr²h

Cylinder surface area: SA = 2πr² + 2πrh

Cone volume: V = (1/3)πr²h

Cone surface area: SA = πr² + πrl (l = slant height)

Sphere volume: V = (4/3)πr³
Sphere surface area: SA = 4πr²

Pyramid volume: V = (1/3)(base area)(height)

Similar solids: if linear scale factor = k, area scale factor = k², volume scale factor = k³
8b. MORE AREA & VOLUME (polygons, cubes, diagonals)
Cube:
Volume: V = s³
Surface area: SA = 6s²

Space diagonal: d = s√3

Face diagonal: d = s√2
Rectangular prism space diagonal: d = √(l² + w² + h²)

Parallelogram area: A = base × height

Rhombus area: A = (1/2)d₁d₂ (product of diagonals over 2)
Trapezoid area: A = (1/2)(b₁ + b₂)h
Regular polygon area (general formula): A = (1/2) × perimeter × apothem

Regular hexagon:
 Area: A = (3√3/2)s² (equivalent to 6 equilateral triangles, each (s²√3)/4 )
Apothem: a = (s√3)/2
A regular hexagon's side length equals its circumradius (distance from center to
vertex)
Regular pentagon: A = (1/4)√(5(5+2√5)) × s² (rarely needed memorized — usually
given or built from triangles)
Apothem definition: perpendicular distance from center of regular polygon to a side
(used with the general regular-polygon area formula above)
Sum of interior angles of a polygon: (n - 2) × 180°
Each interior angle of a regular n-gon: [(n - 2) × 180°] / n
Sum of exterior angles of any convex polygon = 360°
Prisms in general: V = (base area) × height — works for triangular, hexagonal, or
any prism once you know the base shape's area
Composite/combined solids: total volume or surface area = sum (or difference) of
individual known solids — common Digital SAT trick (e.g., cone on top of cylinder,
cube with a cylindrical hole drilled through)
Cavalieri's principle (conceptual): two solids with equal cross-sectional area at every
height have equal volume, even if shapes differ
Effect of scaling one dimension only: scaling just height (not radius/side) scales
volume linearly, not by k³ — a common trap distinguishing this from uniform scaling
8c. PYRAMIDS, FRUSTUMS & MORE SOLIDS
Pyramid volume (already above): V = (1/3)(base area)(height)

Pyramid surface area = base area + sum of areas of triangular lateral faces
Regular pyramid lateral surface area: LSA = (1/2) × perimeter of base × slant
height

Regular pyramid total surface area: SA = base area + (1/2)(perimeter)(slant

height)
Slant height vs. height distinction: slant height (l) runs along a triangular face; height
(h) is perpendicular from apex to base center; related by right triangle: l² = h² +
(apothem of base)² for a regular pyramid
Cone slant height relation: l² = r² + h² (Pythagorean theorem applied to cone's
cross-section)
Frustum (truncated cone) volume: V = (1/3)πh(R² + Rr + r²) , where R, r are the
two radii — rare but has appeared
Composite solids: add/subtract volumes or surface areas of known shapes stacked,
nested, or hollowed out
6b. MORE CIRCLE THEOREMS (deep-cut)
Geometric Mean (Altitude-on-Hypotenuse) Theorem: in a right triangle, the
altitude to the hypotenuse creates two smaller triangles similar to the original and to
each other. If altitude = h, and the hypotenuse splits into segments p and q:
h² = p·q (altitude is geometric mean of the two segments)

leg² = (adjacent hypotenuse segment) × (whole hypotenuse) — i.e., a² = p·c

and b² = q·c

Two chords intersecting inside a circle: (segment1a)(segment1b) = (segment2a)

(segment2b)
Two secants from external point: (whole secant 1)(external part 1) = (whole
secant 2)(external part 2)

Tangent-secant from external point: tangent² = (whole secant)(external part)

Two tangents from same external point: the two tangent segments are equal in
length
Tangent-chord angle: angle between tangent and chord = half the intercepted arc
Angle formed by two chords intersecting inside circle = half the SUM of the two
intercepted arcs
Angle formed by two secants/tangents outside circle = half the DIFFERENCE of the
intercepted arcs
Inscribed quadrilateral (cyclic quadrilateral): opposite angles are supplementary
(sum to 180°)
Inscribed right angle: an angle inscribed in a semicircle is always 90° (Thales'
theorem)
5b. MORE TRIANGLE THEOREMS
Angle Bisector Theorem: an angle bisector divides the opposite side into segments
proportional to the adjacent sides: a/b = (segment adjacent to a)/(segment adjacent
to b)

Side-Splitter Theorem: a line parallel to one side of a triangle that intersects the other
two sides divides them proportionally
Similar triangle ratios: corresponding altitudes, medians, and angle bisectors share
the same ratio as corresponding sides; area ratio = (side ratio)²
Perimeter ratio of similar figures = same as the linear scale factor (not squared)
Apollonius's theorem (median length): AB² + AC² = 2AD² + 2BD² where AD is the
median to BC — niche but has appeared in advanced questions
Isosceles triangle base angles are equal; converse also true (equal angles → isosceles)
4b. MORE FUNCTION/ALGEBRA STRUCTURE
Domain restrictions: denominators ≠ 0; expressions under even radicals ≥ 0
Range of quadratics: if a > 0 , range is y ≥ k (vertex min); if a < 0 , range is y ≤ k
(vertex max)
Even/odd function symmetry: even function → f(-x) = f(x) (symmetric about y-
axis); odd function → f(-x) = -f(x) (symmetric about origin)
Rational Root Theorem: possible rational roots of a polynomial = ± (factors of
constant term)/(factors of leading coefficient)
Synthetic division: shortcut for dividing a polynomial by (x - a) , useful once one
root is known
Structure of an expression / equivalent forms: SAT frequently asks "which
expression is equivalent" — recognize factored vs. expanded vs. vertex forms
represent the same function
Systems of a linear and a quadratic: substitute linear into quadratic, solve resulting
quadratic; 0, 1, or 2 real solutions = 0, 1, or 2 intersection points
Interval notation vs. inequality notation: (a, b) = open, [a, b] = closed
Symmetry of parabola: axis of symmetry x = -b/2a ; any two points equidistant from
the axis have equal y-values (shortcut for finding a second x-intercept if one root and
the vertex/axis are known)
9b. MORE STATISTICS (quartiles, spread)
Quartiles: Q1 = median of lower half, Q2 = overall median, Q3 = median of upper half
Interquartile Range (IQR): IQR = Q3 - Q1 — measures middle 50% spread, resistant
to outliers
Outlier rule using IQR: a value is an outlier if below Q1 - 1.5(IQR) or above Q3 +
1.5(IQR)

Box plot reading: box spans Q1 to Q3, line = median, whiskers extend to min/max
(excluding outliers)
Percentile: percentage of data points below a given value
Skew and center: right-skewed → mean > median; left-skewed → mean < median
Line of best fit: ŷ = mx + b predicts y from x; residual = actual y − predicted y; good
fit has residuals scattered randomly around 0
Correlation vs. causation: correlation alone never implies causation (tested
conceptually in word problems)
9. STATISTICS
Mean = sum/count
Median: middle value (avg of two middle if even count)
 Mode: most frequent value
Range = max - min
Standard deviation: measures spread; larger spread = larger SD (SAT usually tests
conceptually, not by calculation)
Effect of adding a constant to all data: mean/median shift, SD/range unchanged
Effect of multiplying all data by constant k: mean, median, SD, range all multiply by
|k|
Outlier effect: mean is sensitive to outliers, median is not
Margin of error & confidence intervals: interval = estimate ± margin of error ;
smaller sample size → larger margin of error
Sampling: random sampling → generalizable to population; only random assignment
(not just random sampling) supports causal claims
Z-scores / normal distribution basics: 68-95-99.7 empirical rule (68% within 1 SD,
95% within 2 SD, 99.7% within 3 SD)
Weighted average: (w₁x₁ + w₂x₂ + ...) / (w₁ + w₂ + ...)
10. PROBABILITY
Basic probability: P = favorable outcomes / total outcomes
Complement: P(not A) = 1 - P(A)

Independent events: P(A and B) = P(A) · P(B)

Mutually exclusive events: P(A or B) = P(A) + P(B)

Non-mutually exclusive (general addition rule): P(A or B) = P(A) + P(B) - P(A and
B)
Conditional probability: P(A|B) = P(A and B) / P(B)

Two-way table probability: reading joint/marginal/conditional probabilities directly

from tables
11. RATIOS, PERCENTS & UNIT CONVERSION
Percent change: ((new - old)/old) × 100%

Percent increase/decrease applied sequentially (NOT additive): e.g., +10% then

-10% ≠ 0% net change; multiply the multipliers: original × 1.10 × 0.90
Scale factor / unit conversion: dimensional analysis, set up conversion chains
Density: density = mass/volume
12. SEQUENCES
Arithmetic sequence: aₙ = a₁ + (n-1)d
Geometric sequence: aₙ = a₁ · r^(n-1)
Arithmetic series sum: Sₙ = n(a₁ + aₙ)/2
 Recursive definitions: each term defined in terms of previous term(s)
13. COMPLEX NUMBERS
i = √(-1) , i² = -1

Powers cycle: i¹=i, i²=-1, i³=-i, i⁴=1 (cycle repeats every 4)

Adding/subtracting: combine real and imaginary parts separately
Multiplying: FOIL, then simplify i²= -1
14. MISCELLANEOUS NICHE TOPICS
Interpreting linear/exponential models in context: slope = rate of change, y-
intercept = starting value; exponential base = growth/decay factor
Systems of inequalities: shaded overlapping regions, test points
Piecewise functions: correct domain interval determines which rule to apply
Function notation with tables/graphs: reading f(a) = b from a graph or table
Data from scatterplots: line/curve of best fit, residuals (difference between actual and
predicted y-value)
Extraneous solutions: occur when squaring both sides of an equation or multiplying
by a variable expression — always check solutions in rational/radical equations
Rational equation solving: clear denominators, watch for restricted values
(denominator ≠ 0)
Nested/multi-step percent & ratio word problems: convert all quantities to
consistent units first
Absolute value as distance on number line: |x - a| = distance between x and a

Study tip: The Digital SAT (adaptive, Bluebook format) leans heavily on application of
these — expect word problems and graph/table interpretation over pure recall. Practicing
recognizing which formula a question is fishing for is often more valuable than memorizing
the formula itself.